Hi Im new to this forum. My puppy is 14 weeks and Im looking for some advice, I have started to take her out for short walks but she will often just lay on the floor outside and refuse to walk, she does respond to treats but im worried that she will use this as a way to get treats, I guess I could live with this but its not ideal. Any advice would be appreciated Thanks Martin
Hi Martin, Welcome to the forum! It's a really common issue at that age, it's usually because when the puppy feels resistance on the leash they object by stopping. Keeping the leash loose with lots of encouragement, treats and an enthusiastic voice/body language should help. You won't need to give her treats to get her attention for much longer when she learns how fun the big wide world is Remember, you don't need to worry about going on long formal walks at this stage, playing in the backyard or doing little positive training sessions are just as beneficial for working out her body and mind.
Hi Martin - we had exactly the same with Monty when he was about that age - plonked himself down on the front lawn and refused to budge. On our Kennel Club trainer's advice we used to mix it up a bit so he never knew what was going to happen - sometimes we got ready for a walk, took him outside then came back into the house and gave him his dinner, sometimes we took him out and played a game of tug before going on the walk, sometimes we'd do some training to get him moving - so instead of just treating him when he wouldn't move, we'd ask for a hand-touch. He soon grew out of it as they seem to do with all their puppy-behaviours!
